ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 

OF 

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM 
OE NATURAL HISTORY 

VOL. XI, PART XI 

SOCIETIES OF THE KIOWA 

BY 

ROBERT H. LOWIE 



/’"/O 
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( Continued on Sd p. of cover.) 



ANTHROPOLOGICAL PAPERS 

OF 

THE AMERICAN MUSEUM 
OE NATURAL HISTORY 

VOL. XI, PART XI 

SOCIETIES OF THE KIOWA 



ROBERT H. LOWIE 



NEW YORK 

PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE TRUSTEES 
1916 



SOCIETIES OF THE KIOWA. 



By Robert H. Lowie. 



837 



PREFACE. 



Before summarizing the results of the investigation of Plains Indian 
societies undertaken by the Department of Anthropology for a number of 
years, it appeared desirable to secure data from the Kiowa respecting certain 
theoretical points that had developed from a study of other tribes. Though 
Mr. Mooney’s printed Kiowa material seemed to decide these questions 
implicitly, it seemed best to take a view of the subject in the field from the 
particular vantage ground afforded by the systematic survey of the region 
presented in this volume. For this purpose I made a side trip to Anadarko, 
Oklahoma, in June, 1915. There I had the good fortune of enlisting the 
services of Mr. Andres Martinez, a Mexican who had been captured by the 
Apache while a boy, sold to the Kiowa two years later, and who had lived a 
large portion of his life as a Kiowa among Kiowa, marrying native women, 
entering some of the men’s societies, and so forth. Mr. Martinez became 
my main informant and acted as my interpreter in questioning two full- 
blood Indians on doubtful points. He also corrected several errors in his 
published biography, 1 which he explained were due to his inadequate 
knowledge of English at the time of its composition. 

It is obvious that several days’ work, however intensive, cannot exhaust 
such a topic as the military and related organizations of a Plains tribe: 
all I attempted was to shed some light on the problems treated in this series 
of papers. 

February, 1916. 



1 See Methvin. 



CONTENTS. 



PREFACE . 
INTRODUCTION 

MEN’S SOCIETIES 
Rabbits 
Shepherds 
Tse'ta'nma 
Black Feet . 
Berries 
Q’oVtse'nko . 



Page. 

839 

841 

844 

844 

845 

846 

846 

847 
847 



WOMEN’S SOCIETIES 
OTHER DANCES 



849 

850 



INTRODUCTION. 



From Battey we learn that in the seventies of the last century the Kiowa 
had a police organization designed to prevent the young men from going on 
raids that might bring trouble upon the tribe. 

.... a strong guard of their soldiers were continually watching, day and night, 
while in camp, to prevent any such enterprise from being undertaken. In moving 
from place to place, these soldiers marched on each side of the main body, while a 
front guard went before, and a rear guard behind, thus preventing any from straggling 
away. 

A corresponding body regulated the buffalo hunt. 

The soldiers, going out first, surrounded a tract of country in which were a large 
herd of buffalo; and no one might chase a buffalo past this ring guard on pain of 
having his horse shot by the soldiers . 1 

Clark merely lists the names of five men’s societies . 2 

In Rev. Methvin’s biography of my c} 'ef informant there is a brief 
chapter on military societies , 3 but as these d ,ta were revised and amplified 
in connection with my own inquiries, they need not be summarized as there 
presented. 

Our principal sources on this subject, however, are Mr. Mooney’s state- 
ments . 4 These largely corroborate my own notes and will be presented 
with them so far as they do not coincide. 

The older literature cited above does not in any way contradict the 
general results I obtained independently, which may be summarized as 
follows. 

In recent times the Kiowa had six men’s societies and two women’s 
societies. There once existed in the time of one informant’s greatgrand- 
father an additional men’s society, the qo' + item,,, “ Kiowa’s Bone” (?). 
The members of this organization represented each a buffalo bull, except for 
the leader, who (though also a man) represented a buffalo cow. In a fight, 
if this leader stopped to stand his ground, all the others were obliged to do 
the same, even at the risk of death. Thus all of them were killed, and the 
people were afraid so that they no longer kept up the organization. 



1 Battey, 185-186. 

2 Indian Sign Language, 355. 

a Methvin, 165-168. 

4 Especially Mooney, (b), and in Handbook, article “Military Societies.” 



841 



842 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XI, 



The six men’s societies of recent times were: the Rabbits (fula'nyu) ; 
Shepherds (alto'yuhe); Rulers (?) of Horses (tse'ta'nma) ; Berries 1 (ta’- 
ipeko); Black Feet (tunk'unqot') ; ? Horses (q’o'i'tse'nko). Of these the 
first-mentioned comprised all the little boys 2 in the tribe, while the last 
society in the list is superior to the others in social prestige, being composed 
exclusively of eminent warriors. The rest are of the same rank. Mr. 
Mooney at one time believed that the Rabbits “ were afterward promoted, 
according to merit or the necessities of war, in regular progression to higher 
ranks.” 3 In a more recent statement, however, he corroborates my own 
information that “ the next four societies .... were all of about equal rank, 
varying only according to the merit or reputation of the officers at any 
particular time .” 4 The societies thus did not form a graded series in any 
sense. As a boy grew up any one of the four coordinate societies might 
make him join. Some men never advanced from the status of a Rabbit, 
for if a boy was not considered the right sort he was not asked to join the 
adult men’s organizations. There were only a few individuals who were 
barred in this way, however; every Indian man of any social standing 
became a member of some society. Later some other society might induce 
him to change his membership. If he was especially brave, he might be 
taken into the q’o'i'tse'nko. Except for the Rabbits, age had nothing to 
do with membership, nor was membership purchased; further the societies 
did not offer gifts to the individual sought as a member, thus differing from 
the Crow societies. 

The societies met only during the period between a sun dance announce- 
ment and the sun dance itself, but this interval differed greatly in length, 
the announcement being sometimes made very soon after the consummation 
of the preceding ceremony while at other times it was only made immediately 
before the performance announced. During the period defined the socie- 
ties met very frequently, one member inviting the others one day for a 
feast, and the rest following suit on other days. The q’o'i'tse'nko met less 
frequently than the re$t. A man could only belong to one society at a time 
(except in the case of the adult leaders of the Rabbits). Since the Rabbits 
included all the young boys in the tribe, they were very numerous. On 
the other hand, the q’o'i'tsenko, owing to the special qualifications for 
membership, were very few, — only ten according to Mr. Mooney and 
from fifteen to twenty according to Martinez, while two Indians set the 
number at thirty. The last-mentioned informants set the average member- 



1 Of red color when ripe and salty taste. 

2 Methvin includes the girls also (p. 165), but according to Martinez this is a mistake. 

3 Mooney, (b), 229-230. 

4 id.. Handbook, I, p. 862. 



1916 .] 



Lome, Societies of the Kiowa . 



843 



ship of the other organizations at forty or fifty, while Martinez’s estimate 
is from thirty to forty. 

There was no such rivalry between any two societies in times of war as 
has been described for the Crow Indians (this volume, p. 174). Sometimes 
at the time of the sun dance any two societies might engage in a kicking- 
fight, the object of which was to teach the young Indians not to run away 
from the enemy but to stand their ground and fight. This is doubtless the 
performance referred to by Battey as coming after the erection of the sun 
dance lodge: — 

The soldiers of the tribe then had a frolic in and about it, running and jumping, 
striking and kicking, throwing one another down, stripping and tearing the clothes 
off each other . 1 

Martinez knew of no instance of a man voluntarily leaving his society, 
A father might give presents to poor Indians in honor of a boy who becomes 
a Rabbit, but he would not take the initiative to get his son into his own 
organization. 

The mutual-benefit feature that characterizes the Crow clubs does not 
seem to have been prominent among the Kiowa. For example, when a 
man bought the medicine privileges described by Methvin under the cap- 
tion “ quo-dle-quoit,” 2 he was assisted £>y his relatives, but his society had 
nothing to do with the procedure. 

At the time of the sun dance the medicineman appointed one of the 
societies to get the sacred tree. Similarly, he would choose one of them to 
act as police during the buffalo hunt. Their function in this connection is 
called q’i'at’a/tu, which seems to mean “they can stop any one.” The 
offender who hunted individually instead of taking his place with the rest 
lost the meat so secured, and if he resented this punishment the police might 
shoot his horse or whip him. 

If a member absented himself from an evening session of his society 
during the sun dance period, his associates would sing a song the next day, 
hallooing and making a big noise at the end of the song. Then one man 
would call aloud the delinquent’s name, coupling it with that of his mother- 
in-law and crying, “That is your wife!” Since the mother-in-law taboo 
held sway among the Kiowa, 3 the object of the performance was evidently 
to make the offender ashamed. 



1 Battey, 169. 

2 Methvin, 70 et seq. 

* Methvin, 163. 



844 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XI, 



MEN’S SOCIETIES. 

Rabbits . 1 

According to Mr. Mooney the Rabbit society embraced boyp of the 
age of about ten or twelve. Martinez was about ten years old when he 
joined, but said that any boy belonged to the Rabbits when old enough to 
walk freely. In his case the event occurred later because he only came to 
live among the Kiowa at nine. There were two leaders, who were grown-up 
men and stayed with the Rabbits as long as they lived. These also belonged 
to some other organization, but their first duty was to the Rabbits if a 
meeting of both organizations should be called at the same time. Ko'tar 
and Ayate were the leaders in Martinez’s time. 

The Rabbits, generally, but not always, wore at the back of the head a 
strip of elk hide with the hair and a feather standing erect. They wore 
buckskin clothes and painted the face with different colors. All sang while 
dancing. The leaders beat drums but also took part in the dance some- 
times. During one song three or four boys, or sometimes as many as ten, 
got up to dance. After the dance the leaders told the Rabbits all about 
their war deeds. If one leader died, the other nominated a successor, and if 
the boys agreed all went to this man’s place, seized him and led him to their 
tipi. 

The day before a feast one of the leaders would ride about, announcing 
that such--and-such a boy had invited the Rabbits for a dance and feast the 
next day. 

In accordance with Mr. Mooney’s statement that the boys of the society 
“ were drilled in their future duties as warriors by certain old men,” Martinez 
compares the Rabbit organization to a school. The leaders would rise 
and say: “When I was young like you, I was a little Rabbit, when I got 
older I went and stole horses, took scalps, etc.” 

Martinez says that every once in a while nowadays he hears the father 
of some sick child say, “If he recovers, I’ll call the Rabbits together.” 
Then, if the child gets well, the father will entertain the boys with a feast, 
and the Indians believe that the promise was the cause of the recovery. 
In the old days the Indians used to do the same thing in corresponding cases. 



1 Mr. Mooney, (b), pp. 230, 418, gives two synonymous native terms for Rabbits, “pola'nyup 
and “tsanyui,” of which the former obviously corresponds to my “fula'nyu.” 



1916 .] 



Lowie, Societies of the Kiowa. 



845 



The Rabbits jumped up and down without change of position, held up 
their hands to the level of their ears, moving the hands, and at the same time 
imitated the sound of rabbits: ts’a, t’s’a! 

Martinez remained a Rabbit until he was about fifteen years old. 



Shepherds . 1 

When about fifteen years old, Martinez was sleeping in his tipi one 
night when three young men entered. He gave them something to smoke, 
they smoked and then told him they were there on business. “What is 
your business?” My informant had already guessed what it was, for all 
his visitors were members of the Shepherd society. Each of the Rabbits 
had a special friend with whom he would dance. Martinez’s comrade had 
already been taken in by the Shepherds and wanted him to join likewise. 
There was no reason for refusing, but even had he done so it would have 
been of no avail since they were accustomed to take the boys by force. 
They took Martinez at once to the Shepherds’ meeting-place where the 
members began to halloo and beat drums. He was at once joined by his 
comrade, and the two danced together. 

The Shepherds danced differently from the Rabbits, moving slightly 
or jumping up, and also moving both arms out at the level of the waist. 
No sound was made while dancing. Big-bow and Ayate (the Rabbit leader), 
both famous warriors, were the leaders of the Shepherds for life. The 
Shepherds had no badge, but wore feathers on the head. The two leaders 
had as badges two flat sticks about the length of a man’s arms, carved with 
figures, with a pendant tse'ita u /n ta (= ?) skin, and a wrist-loop. These 
emblems were shared by the leaders of all the coordinate societies. If one 
of the leaders rose and put the loop of his stick round his wrist, all the 
members had to get up likewise and dance. At the end of a song all the 
Shepherds sat down except one of the leaders, who would tell of his exploits. 
For each deed recited the drummers beat the drum once. Sometimes only 
one leader recited the deeds, sometimes one after the other. Sometimes 
some other member would follow with a recital of his own deeds. In the 
Shepherds, as in the other coordinate societies, all ages from twelve up were 
represented. If Martinez had so desired, he might have stayed with the 
Shepherds all his life, but usually some other organization would take a 
desirable member. After being adopted, my informant no longer joined 



1 For his two synonymous native designations “adaltoyui” (corresponding to my “alto'yuhe”) 
and “tenbeyu’i,” Mr. Mooney gives the translation, “Young Mountain Sheep.” 



846 



Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XI, 



the Rabbit feasts but went to those of the Shepherds. All he had to do 
there was to learn the songs and dances and obey his leaders. 

The following story is told. The Kiowa were once being pursued by the 
enemy toward a mountain called Alto'yuhe. There one Kiowa, a Shepherd, 
said: “I will not run any farther, I’ll make a stand and defend my people, 
even if I get killed.” He acted accordingly, sang his song, and was killed. 
The mountain was then called after the Shepherds, and the society adopted 
his death song as a special song of theirs. The words were about the fol- 
lowing: “Now I am gone. I am going to leave you. (i. e. “I will not run 
any more.”) 



Tse'ta'nma . 1 

Martinez was about tweniy when this society took him in. His comrade 
was still a Shepherd, so Martinez sent for him and made him join also. 
There were two leaders, one of whom marched in front, the other behind. 
This seems to apply to all the societies. It did not matter which leader 
took either of the two positions defined. Here, as in all the coordinate soci- 
eties, the leaders had two sticks of the type described for the Shepherds, and 
called either after the skin pendant or qo’ku'qa'. There were rattles and 
drums. Two or three members would dance to the music, but if the leaders 
rose with their badges, all were obliged to rise and dance. The leaders told 
about their deeds, then other members followed suit. Martinez was satis- 
fied with the Shepherds, but the tse'ta/nma were eager to get him, and had 
he refused to join they would have come for him again and again. When 
getting an individual they went to his own, not to his society’s, tipi. The 
society that lost a member in the manner described would not resent this 
in any way and might do likewise with members of other societies. If the 
tseta'nma got together now, Martinez would have the right to join in their 
meeting. 



Black Feet . 2 

These had drums but no rattles. The name did not refer to the Indian 
tribe. There were two leaders. 

Charlie Fa n to /n i was captured and taken away while young and not 
returned to his people till very much later, so he was still a Rabbit when he 



1 Mr. Mooney translates “Horse Caps” (Headdresses); Martinez was unable to give an accurate 
rendering, but gave me the idea of “Rulers of Horses.” 

2 Mr. Mooney translates “Black Legs.” 



1916 .] 



Lowie, Societies of the Kiowa. 



847 



came back at about forty-three years of age. Then the Black Feet took 
him in. One member called on him and told him he was sent to take him 
to that society. He went in. He was made to get up and dance four times 
with some other members, after which one leader told of his deeds. After 
that Fa n to /n i got up to dance whenever he felt like it. A year ago this 
spring the Black Feet got together for a feast and dance. Women were 
allowed to be there, but not members of other societies. The Black Feet 
had a hooked stick called pobu'n, belonging to one officer. It was wrapped 
with beaverskin, painted with different colors, and tied with pairs of eagle 
feathers along the shaft and at the tip of the crooked part. When a man had 
had the stick for a very long time, he might feel like giving it to a young 
member of the organization. Then the young man gave the owner good 
clothes and horses in return. The people knew that a man accepting the 
pobu'n had to be a brave man. When in battle, he would plant his stick 
in the ground and thereafter would not flee unless it was taken out by some- 
one else. 



Berries . 1 

Every member had a rattle, originally of rawhide and of either spherical 
or square shape, but later baking-powder cans were used. There were two 
leaders with sticks. People of other societies might attend while they 
recited their deeds. At the last part of their song the Berries, as well as 
the tseta'nma, would raise their rattles aloft and shake them. 

The Berries had one arrow (ze'bo) as long as a spear. In recent times 
Ha'nguL made one because his grandfather had had one. Since he had it, 
it came to belong to the Berry society. Only one man had it; if he died, 
some other member would get a similar badge, the original being buried 
with the owner. In battle the owner stuck it into the ground and then 
was pledged to stand there unless released by some one else. The arrow 
was decorated with reddened eagle feathers and the entire shaft was painted 
red. 



Q’o'i'tse'nko. 

The exact meaning of this native term could not be ascertained. In his 
lists Mr. Mooney renders it “Chief Dogs” and “Real or Principal Dogs” 2 . 



1 Mr. Mooney translates “ Skunkberries,” and gives another native name rendered “Crazy 
Horses.” 

2 Handbook, I, 862; Mooney, (b), 230. 



848 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XI, 

(?). In his Kiowa glossary, however, he explains that: — 

the name seems to mean “ Kiowa horses” from Ga-i or Kd-i and tsen. Identical with 
the “horse” and “big horse,” military orders of the Kiowa and Kiowa Apache, 
respectively, as given by Clark . 1 

Martinez, like Clark’s informant, translated the word as “Horses” with 
some additional honorific epithet, possibly connected with the office of 
scout. A corresponding difficulty as to the meaning of society designations 
has been noted among the Mandan (this volume, pp. 302, 306, 317). Com- 
parison of the Kiowa society with the (Big) Dog societies of other Plains 
tribes certainly seems to show that it is historically connected with them. 
In further justification of Mr. Mooney’s rendering may be cited the origin 
myth obtained by him. According to this, the founder experienced a 
vision of warriors equipped in the manner since adopted by the society 
and accompanied by a dog, which told the visionary that he, also being a 
dog, should make a noise like one and sing a dog song. 

As already stated, members of this organization were expected to be 
especially brave; accordingly, they enjoyed greater prestige than other 
societies. In age they ranged from about 25 upward. Mr. Mooney’s 
positive statement that the membership was definitely limited to ten is en- 
titled to take precedence of my data since he doubtless had an opportunity 
of securing a general consensus of opinion while I was only able to inter- 
view three informants. Novices were not allowed to enter in the uncere- 
monious manner characteristic of the other societies : one of the two leaders 
would approach the individual chosen with a pipe and thus force him to 
join. If a member felt too old to go to war, he would similarly put his pipe 
into the hand of a younger man, who was thus obliged to become his suc- 
cessor in the organization. Mr. Mooney tells us that in such a case the 
new member presented his predecessor with blankets or other property. 

The distinctive badge of membership was a sash (q’o'i'tse'+ota), about 
six inches wide and long enough to drag along the ground; it was made of 
rawhide, buckskin, or red cloth. When these emblems became old, there 
was a meeting for the purpose of making new ones, which took four or five 
days. For his sash and other regalia each member had a medicine bag 
from which they were only taken in war or when their dance was performed. 
In a war it was a member’s duty to sing the song of his society, fasten his 
sash to the earth with a spear and thereafter to stand his ground regardless 
of consequences; anyone who fled lost his prestige and membership unless 
he had been released by some other man. Mr. Mooney distinguishes three 



1 ibid., 409 . 



1916 .] 



Lowie, Societies of the Kiowa. 



849 



types of sash, — the leader’s 1 emblem, which was of elkskin colored black; 
three emblems of red cloth; and six of elkskin dyed red . 2 He states further 
that a member might lend his sash to another man, more particularly to a 
younger comrade, either in camp or even on less important war expeditions, 
but on the more important raids he was obliged to wear it himself lest he 
be regarded as a coward. 

The ceremonial paint of this organization was red, which was used all 
over the face and clothes, including the moccasins, and also on their feathers. 
The leaders, unlike those of other societies, did not carry flat sticks, but had 
reddened dewclaw rattles, the dewclaws being attached to the handle of the 
rawhide sphere. Martinez declares that the rawhide was obligatory, no 
modern equivalent being permitted . 3 In addition to these instruments 
drums were used at a dance, and the performers also blew eagle bone 
whistles, painted red. The dance step Was slow. 

In tattle and during a dance the members used backward speech. For 
example, they would say, “ I am going to run away.” “We do not want a 
feast yet,” when they meant the contrary. During a buffalo hunt they 
might act as police like the other organizations. 



WOMEN’S SOCIETIES. 

There was an Old Women society (tsaLietsu' n yu'p) and a Bear society 
(o n na'atema). The latter had very few members, only about ten or eleven. 
Some members were old, some were young. A few women, including Charlie 
Fa n to /n i’s grandmother, belonged to both. 

The Old Women were not all old, though none was young. There were 
about thirty-five or forty of them. They selected their daughters or other 
close kinswomen for successors; this also applies to the Bears. A woman 
made a feast four times before becoming a member. The Old Women 
danced round in a circle, and had a drum. In marching, one leader was in 
front, another in the rear. The Bears merely imitated the motions of bears 
with their hands. They did not allow any outsider to come in when they 
had a dance. 

If a man started out for war he prayed to the Old Women, saying that 



1 According to Mr. Mooney there was only one leader. 

2 Mooney, (b), 285. 

3 I was told that similar rattles were also used by the medicinemen at a sun dance. 



850 Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XI, 

if he came back successful he should give them a feast. In fulfilling his 
promise, he called the women, lit a pipe, presented it to them, and each 
member smoked in turn, then prayed for the warrior’s honor and long life. 
Then the warriors brought water for the women, who drank it and prayed 
again. Then the feast was brought, the war leader recited his deeds, and 
then one of the leaders of the society cut a little piece of meat, buried it in 
the ground and prayed, treating in the same way a pinch or slice of every 
kind of food. Then they ate. 

This body is clearly described by Battey, who saw its members perform 
for an hour or two in the afternoon during the preparatory arrangements 
for a sun dance: — 

The music consisted of singing and drumming, done by several old women, who 
were squatted on the ground in a circle. The dancers — old, gray-headed women, 
from sixty to eighty years of age — ■ performed in a circle around them for some time, 
finally striking off upon a waddling run, one behind another; they formed a circle, 
came back, and, doubling so as to bring two together, threw their arms around each 
other’s necks, and trudged around for some time longer; then sat down, while a 
youngish man circulated the pipe from which each in turn took two or three whiffs, 
and this ceremony ended . 1 



OTHER DANCES. 

The sun dance, of which several accounts are available, 2 falls outside the 
scope of this volume. 

The grass dance was said to have been obtained from the Dakota about 
fifteen years ago, but as Sitting-bull’s name was mentioned in this connection 
my informant seems to have erred by a decade and to have had in mind 
the ghost dance, which the Kiowa first performed in 1890. 3 Mr. Mooney 
mentions a dance resembling the Omaha dance, in, which only two men 
actually participate and adopt a child of another tribe during a tribal visit. 4 

In the buffalo dance (po n 'quEn) any of the societies might join. It 
was a sort of war dance and they performed it only before setting out on an 
expedition. War-bonnets were worn, and the participants carried shields, 
spears, and arrows. They would recite their martial exploits. 

Of greater comparative interest is the gwuda n 'ke, War Singing. The 



1 Battey, 168. 

2 Battey, op. cit., 166-184; Mooney, (b), 240-244; Scott, 345-379. 

3 Mooney, (b), 360. 

* ibid., 358. 



1916.] 



Lowie, Societies of the Kiowa. 



851 



night before starting on a war expedition the whole company of warriors 
assembled and any woman might join, but men only if they intended to go 
along. They got a big buffalo rawhide, then all participants took hold of it, 
and beat it with sticks, at the same time singing a war song and marching 
through the entire camp. After they had passed through camp, they 
halted to smoke, then continued the parade, possibly until daylight. My 
informant stated that this performance was shared by the Comanche. As a 
matter of fact I recorded it among this people , 1 as well as in other tribes. 
Battey observed an apparently related performance in connection with 
the sun dance, after the lodge had been erected: — 

In the afternoon, a party of a dozen or more warriors and braves proceeded to the 
medicine house, followed by a large proportion of the people of the encampment. 
They were highly painted, and wore shirts only, with head-dresses of feathers which 
extended down the backs to the ground, and were kept in their proper places by means 
of an ornamented strap clasping the waist. Some of them had long horns attached 
to their head-dresses. They were armed with lances and revolvers, and carrying a 
couple of long poles mounted from end to £nd with feathers, the one white and the 
other black. They also bore shields highly ornamented with paint, feathers, and hair. 

They took their station upon the side opposite the entrance, the musicians 
standing behind them. 

Many old women occupied a position to the right and near the entrance, who set 
up a tremulous shrieking; the drums began to beat, and the dance began, the party 
above described only participating in it. 

They at first slowly advanced towards the central post, followed by the musicians 
several of whom carried a side of raw hide (dried), which was beaten upon with sticks, 
making about as much music as to beat upon the sole of an old shoe, while the drums, 
the voices of the women, and the rattling of pebbles in instruments of raw hide 
filled out the choir. 

After slowly advancing nearly to the central post, they retired backward, again 
advanced, a little farther than before; this was repeated several times, each time 
advancing a little farther, until they crowded upon the spectators, drew their revolv- 
ers, and discharged them into the air. 

Soon after, the women rushed forward with a shrieking yell, threw their blankets 
violently upon the ground, at the feet of the retiring dancers, snatched them up with 
the same tremulous shriek that had been before produced, and retired; which closed 
this part of the entertainment. The ornamented shields used on this occasion were 
afterwards hung up with the medicine . 2 

When a war party returned with a scalp, there was rejoicing and the 
women came to take part in the scalp dance. Both sexes might either go 
round in a circle for this performance or face each other in rows. A scalp 
was divided into four parts, each of which was put on a stick and carried 
by one of the women. The dance was danced every day for about a month, 
then the scalps were stowed away in medicine bags. 



1 This volume, 811, 820, 834. 

2 Battey, 170-172. 




£&-£/? 347 



( Continued from Sd p. of cover.) 

Volume XII. 

I. String-figures from the Patomana Indians of British Guiana. By Frank ' 
E. Lutz. Pp. 1-14, and 12 text figures. 1912. Price, $.25. 

II. Prehistoric Bronze in South America. By Charles W. Mead. * 
and 4 text figures. 1915. Price, $.25. 

III. Peruvian Textiles. By M. D. C. Crawford. Pp. 52-104, and 23 
figures. 1915. Price, $.50. 

IV. (In preparation.) 

Volume XIII. 

I. Social Life and Ceremonial Bundles of the Menomini Indians. By Alan- 
son Skinner. Pp. 1-165, and 30 text figures. 1913. Price, $1.50. 

II. Associations and Ceremonies of the Menomini Indians. By Alanson 
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III. Folklore of the Menomini Indians. By Alanson Skinner and John V. 
Satterlee. Pp. 217-546. 1915. Price, $1.60. 

Volume XIV. 

I. The Stefansson- Anderson Arctic Expedition of the American Museum: 
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figures, and 2 maps. 1914. Price, $3.50. 

II. (In preparation.) 

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Volume XVI. 

I. The Sun Dance of the Crow Indians. By Robert H. Lowie. Pp. 1-|50, 
and 11 text figures. 1915. Price, $.50. 

■ ■ . " ' - . ■ - ' t. 1 

Volume XVII. 

I. Riding Gear of the North American Indians. By Clark Wissler. Pp. 
1-38, and 27 text figures. 1915. Price, $.50. 

II. Costumes of the Plains Indians. By Clark Wissler. Pp. 41-91, and 28 
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